


Wachovia

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-18
Updated: 2008-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-15 03:59:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14783201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Post-Disaster Relief. Donna convices Josh to go away for a weekend and things go VERY wrong! But... also kinda right.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

“You need anything?” Donna asked Josh coming into his office. 

“On my home machine, I have 52 "Hang in there" messages, one from a headhunter who wanted to know if I'm interested in moving into the private sector.” 

“Are you?” she asked in return. 

“What's that?” Josh asked ignoring her question and motioning to a rather large folder she was carrying under her arm. 

“It's my 'What A Shame' folder. All the stuff we never have time for, the stuff we thought we'd fix when we got here but we never did.” She began to shift through the paperwork inside as Josh sat down in his chair and looked up at her. “Foreign adoption policies...hybrid energy partnerships...extending the roadless conservation plan...Okay, this one's not a shame, I just didn't want to deal with it...funding special education for kids with disabilities... ammunition control, what's a gun without bullets?...a twenty-first century teachers corps--we've got all those baby boomer teachers retiring. .. mentor programming.” 

“You know what?” Josh interrupted. “Go get your stenopad. I have something to dictate.” 

“Really?” she asked, her eyes growing wide. He nodded in answer and she disappeared, momentarily returning with pad in hand. She sat down in one of the visitor chairs. “Okay.” she said. “What is it?” 

“My letter of resignation.” 

Her head snapped up and she looked at him in surprise. She immediately saw that he was serious. She stood up and closed the office door...rather abruptly. She turned around slowly to face him, then whipped her pen at him in anger. 

“Hey!” he yelped catching the projectile. 

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!” she shouted. She hurled her stenopad at him next. 

“DONNA!” 

“I will NOT let you do this to us!” she huffed out looking for something else to throw at him. “I will NOT let you give up and let them win.” 

“Donna.” he sighed now instead. He didn’t want to fight with her on top of everyone else. Couldn’t she see this was for the better? He didn’t want to BE here anymore. He didn’t want to be the guy that the President and Leo sent in to get a job done and be their pitbull, and then didn’t support when the dust settled. 

“No, Josh.” she said forcefully. “You were right. You were RIGHT! Carrick is an asshole who was going to defect anyway and used you to do it. He said it himself. You stood up to him and didn’t give him his stupid launcher. The President and Leo know you were right, but they just don’t know how to deal with it.” 

“I’m not going to come in every day and wait for them to figure it out.” Josh shot back. “This is my life and my career they’re messing around with.” 

“It’s also MY life and MY career that YOU’RE messing around with.” 

“How do you figure that?” he replied. “Your job is secure. You have a job here whether I’m here or not.” 

Donna’s eyes widened and Josh immediately realized what he just said. The one person who stands by him not matter what; the one person who always believes in him, and he just... 

Oh shit. 

She picked up a coffee mug and propelled it at him with a force and vengeance he’d never seen from her before. If he wasn’t as quick as he was, it would have nailed him right in the forehead. 

“I’m sorry!” he yelped. “That came out wrong. I meant to say that if you wanted to stay, you could. I know you wouldn’t want to stay here without me.” 

She stood there unsuccessfully trying to force back the tears. She wiped her eyes and looked down at him where he was sitting. He looked defeated. He finally looked like they got him and she hated it. She hated seeing him give up the fight. This was not her Joshua. Her Josh would stand up and tell them all to go to hell; her Josh would NEVER let the lions at the gate win. 

“We have to get out of here.” she said softly sitting back down. 

“Right.” Josh sighed rubbing his face. “Where do you want to go?” 

“I don’t know.” she shrugged. “Let’s just drive down the coast and see where we end up.” 

“Wait, what?” he asked. “What are you talking about?” 

“Getting out of the city for the weekend.” she replied. “What are you talking about?” 

“Changing jobs still.” he said. 

She paused and looked at him. “You were really going to give me that much say?” she gaped at him. 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay. This is why we have to get out of the city for a few days.” Donna replied. “You’re starting to go round the bend.” 

“You want to go away for the weekend?” he asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Together?” 

“Yes.” she said. But she paused as she thought of that plan and how it might look. “Or do you think Amy might not go for that.” 

“Amy’s not an issue.” he smiled in return. 

“She’s not?” 

“No.” 

“Oh.” 

“Other people around here might raise eyebrows though.” he hedged. 

“It’s Thursday.” she said. “It’s not unheard of for me not to be in the office when you’re not here. Wait. Yes it is, it’s unheard of for you to take a day off at all.” 

“All right, quit snarking.” he said sitting up. “Let me hear your plan.” This idea had merit. Maybe a few days out of the city would help clear his head and put things into perspective away from the circling vultures; it’ll give him enough time to unwind and pluck all the knives from his back. 

“That’s my plan. Let’s drive down the coast and see where we end up.” she nodded to him. Well, that certainly wasn’t like Donna, he thought. Donna always had a plan. 

“Or we could drive UP the coast.” he said after a moment. 

“Where?” 

“Sea Isle City.” 

“Your mom still owns that place?” she asked cocking her head to the side. 

“Yeah. She never sold it in case I wanted it.” 

“Wanted it for what?” Donna smiled. 

“I don’t know. A vacation home, an investment. This is my mother.” 

“Right.” Donna smiled. “A honeymoon retreat for you then.” 

“Probably.” he smiled in return. “Want to go there then?” 

“Kay.” she smiled. She’d heard him talk about the place before. It was just a little two bedroom bungalow on the beach at the bottom of New Jersey. His family used to vacation there during the summers. 

“Kay. I’ll call down to HR and tell them neither one of us will be in tomorrow. Foreign adoption policies and hybrid energy partnerships will just have a wait a few more days.” 

She liked the sound of that. 

TBC


	2. Wachovia

“All right. Anything else you want to eat this weekend?” Donna asked as they moved toward the check out at the supermarket in Sea Isle City. 

“This is a full cart.” Josh said pointing towards the cart with his cell phone in his hand. “Most of this is going end up coming back with us.” 

“Who are you calling?” Donna demanded moving up to the conveyor belt as she and Josh began to unload the cart. 

“Toby called.” he replied putting the phone up to his ear. 

“Josh? Where the hell are you?” Toby demanded picking up the phone. 

“Jersey.” Josh answered. 

The checkout clerk sighed. “People from New Jersey, don’t call it Jersey.” she said. 

“You caught us.” Donna smiled to the clerk. “We’re from out of town. Sort of. He has a vacation house here.” 

“Ah.” 

She stopped listening to Josh’s end of the conversation that was quickly becoming heated, so she engaged the clerk in a conversation about recommendations for dinner. After bagging everything and handing the clerk Josh’s credit card, Donna grabbed a tide schedule for the beach and dragged Josh out of the supermarket. The longer Josh stayed on the phone, the more agitated he became. 

“Joshua, hang up.” Donna ordered forcefully. 

“Was that Donna?” Toby asked suddenly. Josh looked pointedly over at Donna, but she didn’t care if Toby heard her. Fighting with the White House was exactly what this weekend was NOT about. 

“Yes.” Josh sighed. 

“You’re at the Jersey Shore with your assistant?” Toby confirmed. 

“Toby.” Josh warned. They were about to get into dangerous waters. He was tired of the rest of the senior staff seemingly understanding his and Donna’s close friendship and then backing off when Josh was in hot water over something. It was times like this that they left Donna to pick up the pieces, all the while coming down on him for how inappropriate it might look. He was tired of it. 

“Josh?” Toby asked again. “I don’t need to tell you...” 

“No, Toby, you don’t.” Josh cut off. “Nobody needs to tell me anything else right now. I’m tired of everyone telling me stuff. I’m tired of everyone’s pep talks, and career advice, and good intentions, and what stuff looks like for the administration. Yes. I’m in New Jersey with Donna. We’re staying in my parents’ TWO BEDROOM vacation house. It was Donna’s excellent idea that I get out of the city for weekend, and I think she deserves the break, too. So, that’s where I’ll be if we get bombed, and ONLY if we get bombed, shacked up in the New Jersey with my assistant.” 

He snapped the phone shut before Toby could say anything else and looked over at Donna who was now beginning to load the bags in the trunk of the car. 

“Well, that went well.” he said. 

“Or not.” she replied glaring at him. 

“Let’s get this stuff unpacked at the house, then we’ll go walk along Landis and see what’s open this time of year. That’s like the main drag.” 

“When’s the last time you were here?” She asked as they finished loading the groceries and got back into the car. 

“A couple of years ago.” he replied. She stopped for a minute, then looked out the window, sorry she had asked. With Amy, were the words she assumed he left off. She tried to push that out of her mind and focus on what this weekend was about, and it wasn’t about her dwelling on Amy, which she had already done in the past 24 hours. “I came up with my mom to check on the place and we set up contractors to make some repairs.” He continued when he saw her reaction. For some reason, he found it important to make sure that she knew he wasn’t in the habit of bringing women here. 

She smiled back at the unspoken words. “Ah.” she said. 

“Yes.” 

“Okay.” 

She looked back out the window still smiling and enjoying the view. It was tourist season and the town was loaded down with visitors. It was a beautiful day and forecasted to be a beautiful weekend. She couldn’t wait to sit on the beach and relax during the day, and sit out under the stars at night. 

And, of course, spending time with Josh. They seemed to have lost their way again. This was the third time that happened to them. The second time, as well as this time, was in correlation to his relationship with Amy; the first time was because of her screw up with the diary. But they were here together, back on track. Towards what, she hardly knew anymore. Sometimes she thought they were moving in the same direction, always on the verge of something more. But inevitably, something happened and they retreated back again. 

Tensions had been running high in the White House for weeks. First Zoe’s kidnapping and then this stupid Carrick thing. She dropped her head back against the head rest and sighed. 

“You all right?” he asked quietly. 

“Mmm-hmm.” she smiled looking over at him. “Just happy to be away.” 

“Me too. This was a good idea.” he said. He reached over and squeezed her hand, before giving him the opportunity to pull it back again, she flipped her hand over and entwined her fingers with his and squeezed back. 

He looked back at the road, and she continued to look at him. He looked like he was relaxing a bit. She wondered if he was serious about leaving yesterday or if he was just frustrated. She planned on talking to him about it, but not until the weekend was over. She was serious. She didn’t want to think about the White House this weekend, and given his conversation with Toby, evidently he didn’t either. She smiled as he ran his thumb over her hand and wondered if there was going to be anything else they could bring themselves to talk about this weekend. 

TBC


	3. Wachovia

“It’s beautiful here.” Donna said coming out to the wooden, weathered patio Josh was standing on looking out at the Ocean. 

“Yeah.” he smiled back. “We came to brink of selling it a few times, but just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it.” 

“I’m glad.” she smiled. She laid down on the lounger there with her sunglasses on and closed her eyes. 

Josh continued to stare out at the ocean, inhaling the salt air and enjoying the cool breeze. He chanced a few glances back at Donna. She looked beautiful, as usual. But she was always more beautiful at times like this when she was saving his sanity...or saving his soul, more likely. He wondered what kept them apart so much. They were always close, and she was his best friend. She understood him better than anyone. When he told her he wanted to dictate his letter of resignation, unlike any other assistant, she saw through him. She knew he was just frustrated. Evidently, she was just as frustrated as he was lately, given the way she started throwing things at him. But something kept holding them back. 

He smiled when he thought of both the times she’d asked about Amy in the last 24 hours, albeit the second time was without words. She was usually pretty good at hiding her jealousy over Amy. She was certainly better at hiding it than he’d ever been. He wasn’t blind to the attraction. He always did find it odd that it bothered him when Donna dated, but didn’t bother Toby or Sam when their assistants dated. It bothered him when he saw her dress up for some other guy. It bothered him when some other guy put a smile on her face. 

They were really going to have to talk about this soon. There was only so much longer they were going to be able to deny it and push it to the background. He didn’t know how much longer they had with that. He was pretty sure that she saw them on the same path he did. He just wasn’t sure what they were ready for. Maybe this time was it. Maybe this crisis was finally going to be the one to bring them together. All the signs were there. She suggested going away together, and he agreed. He barely had to think about it. There was no one to interrupt them now and the only people who could get in their way right now was themselves. He had innocently squeezed her hand in the car and she had grabbed on. They’d gotten pretty good about reading each other’s signs over the years and reading between the lines, sifting through the bull shit to find the true meaning. If one of them ever came right out and said what they meant, the other would probably fall over dead from shock. 

Then there was the question of the direction of his career. She had confirmed for him yesterday that she’d go with him if he left. He always sort of thought she would, but she had never out and out said it. He knew that his next move should be something where she would have more responsibility. She had learned a lot from him over the years. He was constantly afraid someone was going to see her real worth and snatch her away. Then times like these came along and she proved her loyalty to him again. 

“Hey, Donna?” he asked. 

“Mmm?” came her voice from the lounge chair. 

“What if I did something that wasn’t in Washington?” he said. “Would still come?” 

“Sure.” she replied. 

“You would?” he asked skeptically. 

“Well, I mean, I guess it really would depend on what you left Washington to do.” she amended. “If you suddenly left to become a lumberjack, I’m not sure I’d be too wild about splitting wood for a living.” 

“No. I’m talking about leaving to run a campaign, or work for a governor, or something like that.” 

“Have you had offers to do that?” She asked over the rim of her sunglasses. 

“Some.” he shrugged. “I’m just wondering if there are limitations to you coming with me.” 

“We’re talking about this?” she asked leaning up on her elbows. 

“I don’t know.” he said. “It just popped in my head.” 

“I’ll go with you.” she assured leaning back again. He smiled at her trust and looked back to the ocean. “Just so long as you don’t lead us into hell.” she amended. 

He looked back to the ocean and continued smiling. With the single exception of their friendship, he was pretty sure they were there already. A job that had definitely lost its luster; friends that were afraid to truly stand by him; he couldn’t kiss her without causing another scandal. Maybe he should just do it. Maybe he should just go out in a blaze of glory and obnoxiousness. Maybe he should just let them write what they wanted to and not bother with any corrections. Let them say what they wanted. 

No. He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t let them ruin her reputation and say ugly, untrue things and not correct them. He couldn’t let Amy say I told you so and Mary Marsh say he was Satan. He couldn’t let anyone think that she wasn’t a strong enough person to ward off unwanted advances from her boss, though he knew they wouldn’t be unwanted...still. 

“Josh.” she said from her spot on the chair. 

“Yeah.” 

“Come sit with me.” she ordered. 

“There’s only room for one there.” he noted. 

“I guess we’ll just have to lay close.” she smirked. He couldn’t see her eyes from behind her sunglasses, but he’d seen them a million times before, and he knew they were smiling back at him. 

“Okay.” he acquiesced. “Don’t be a lounge chair hog.” He slid down onto the chair and she shifted over to allow him space, curling up to his side as he wrapped his arms around her. 

“Mmm...” she sighed. “This is relaxing.” 

She tipped her head back to look at him and he turned his head to hers. His hand came up and pulled the sunglasses off her face. 

“Donna?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Are we going to do something that’s going to confuse us even more?” 

“No. I think we’re going to do something that’s going to clear a few things up.” 

“This is a nice place for that.” 

“I thought so.” 

Her hand was on his chest and he briefly wondered if she could feel his heart speed up underneath it. He realized this was the moment of their first kiss right about the same time as he realized there was no kissing happening. Screw it. He could do it after all. 

He leaned down and touched his lips to hers. She brought her hand up to his face and he moved his hand to her back and pulled her closer. The kiss was slow and tender. With neither of them making a move to deepen it. He felt a tingling all the way down to his toes. He could get fired for this. He didn’t care. He was probably going to get fired anyway. This was the most precious moment of his life, and he wasn’t going to let the President and Leo ruin it. 

Donna felt her toes curl and her skin was on fire where his hand was coming into contact with her back. It was amazing. It was slow and lazy. She thought of this moment for years, and imagined all the different ways it could go. She knew that her mind and her heart were ready for any eventuality right now. 

She wondered if she told him she loved right now if it would unspool him. He had know by now. She knew he cared about her. It wasn’t like he always hid it well. But it did confuse him. That much had been obvious to her for a while. 

They broke apart and he moved to kiss her forehead. He sighed as he pulled her closer and she rested her head on his chest. 

“I wasn’t sure we’d be good at that.” he confessed softly against her hair. 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” she chided. “It’s not possible that we wouldn’t be good at that....or other things.” He smiled at her innuendo and kissed the top of her head, as she started running her fingers up and down his bare arm. 

He squeezed her lightly. For the first time, after kissing a woman he was attracted to, and had been for years, he wasn’t trying to figure out ways to get her in bed. He wasn’t trying to plot the next several steps anxiously, and worrying about how they’d turn out. They’d get to the next step, and probably this weekend. But for now, he was content just to lay here with her in his arms. Somewhere in their contentedness and serenity, they fell asleep. 

TBC


	4. Wachovia

“You’re still in here?” Donna asked incredulously as she walked up to Josh where he was on line in the Wachovia bank. 

“The ATM’s broken. There’s like one teller.” he sighed motioning towards the front desk. 

“Yeah, but I had time to try on this dress and buy it.” Donna replied holding up a plastic bag she was holding. She had bought an adorable purple dress at the boutique next door. She often dressed for him, even if he didn’t realize it. There were events they’d gone to that he brought her with him where she dressed specifically to try to provoke a reaction from him. Ever since he told her she looked amazing on inauguration day, she had tried to get to hear it again. Of course, he always told her she looked nice, but she was trying to illicit those two magical words again. Between the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes, she could have stood in that snow smiling at him all night. 

“What’s the dress for?” he asked smiling and peering over to get a look, but she pulled it out of the way. 

“It might be for you, if you can show some patience.” she chastised, but she smiled because his constant impatience was something she often found endearing, oddly enough. 

“For me?” This made him grin like a goon. The thought that she had bought something specifically to wear for him, something that would specifically be known as the Josh-dress, and not the Jack-dress, or the Cliff-dress, or the boring insurance lobbyist dress who got that amazing red number... 

“For dinner tonight.” 

“Dinner?” 

“Yes, remember?” she asked. “Just an hour ago we decided to go to that seafood restaurant you said was good, instead of making something from all the food we bought this morning.” 

“Oh yeah.” he said still smiling. “I remember now. My mind was on other stuff we were doing while discussing that.” 

She blushed and smiled as she remembered all the kissing that had gone on when they woke up tangled up on the lounge chair. 

“You’re cute when you blush.” he said softly leaning in to kiss her. “I’ve spent years trying to make you blush.” 

“Apparently, all you had to do was kiss me and then talk about....” she trailed off as she saw three men moving quickly into the bank. 

Things started happening very quickly. One man bolted the doors closed, as a second moved up to the sole teller pointing his gun at her. A third man grabbed a man and a woman out of an office and began corralling the bank’s occupants over to the wall. 

Josh grabbed hold of Donna as she clung to him tightly and he pulled her back against the wall at the direction of the gunmen. 

“Everyone sit down on the floor!” Gunman number one ordered loudly as Josh, Donna, the two bank managers, and two other customers in the bank sank to the floor. Gunman number three ran around and closed the curtains and blinds on all the windows. 

“Hurry the fuck up!” Gunmen number two ordered the teller, who was shaking and crying, while trying to open the drawers of money. “God the service at his branch sucks!” 

“I can’t believe this.” Donna whispered against his ear trembling. “Tell me this isn’t happening right now.” 

“Shh.” he hissed in reply. He didn’t want to draw any attention to them. He wanted to blend into the wall and hope they didn’t pick them to be their human shields out of here. Not to mention, he didn’t want to draw any attention to Donna, who was, quite frankly, looking extremely attractive today in short shorts, a tank top, her blonde hair up and long legs. If these guys were driven to this crime, they could be driven to others. 

They all jumped and a few screamed as shots were fired. One of the gunmen was shooting out the surveillance cameras, though Donna couldn’t really figure out why. It wasn’t like they played back at the police station or anything like that. 

Josh noticed movement out of the corner of his eye in the back of the bank. It was a security guard. He must have been in a back room on a break. He emerged quietly now with a gun drawn. This was about to get pretty ugly. Did this guy not see that there were three of them? 

“Freeze!” the security guard yelled pointing his gun at one of the gunmen. 

“What the fuck?” gunman number three shouted. Two of the gunmen now had their weapons trained on the security guard. 

“Close your eyes.” Josh ordered Donna squeezing his eyes shut and clutching her head to his chest. She didn’t ask why, she just closed her eyes tightly and buried her face in his chest. After a few more volleys of yelling, shots rang out, and a woman screamed. When Donna opened her eyes, the gunmen were still standing, the security guard was not. 

“Oh my God.” she whimpered. She looked up at Josh and he seemed to be staring blankly back at her. “Stay with me, Josh.” She ordered quietly and he nodded his head vigorously. “Don’t flip out and leave me by myself, okay?” He nodded again. 

“I’m okay.” he said softly, though not entirely believing it. She was right. If he lost it right now, she’d be stuck with these lunatics and him freaking out. 

“Anybody else want to play hero?” Gunman number one asked the group. Not surprisingly, no one answered. “We’ll be out of your hair soon enough. If nobody else is stupid, everybody lives.” 

Their attention was drawn to the sirens and police cars that now swarmed the outside of the bank. Through the darkened windows they could hear the screeching tires and the sound of voices. Gunman number three pulled back the curtain slightly and fired out an open window before slamming it shut. 

The stand off had begun. 

TBC


	5. Wachovia

“Okay. Now what about the vault?” Gunman number two demanded of the teller, once all the drawers were emptied of their cash. 

“It’s the safety deposit boxes.” the teller answered. Donna could see that she was terrified. She couldn’t say she blamed her. She’d been emptying the drawers while staring down the barrel of a gun. 

“Let’s open them.” he ordered. 

“I can’t.” she said through tears. 

“I’m sorry?” the gunman demanded, cocking his pistol and pressing it up against her forehead. “There is no can’t. You just gave me about $20,000 here. There’s three of us. It’s likely I’m either getting shot or caught. $20,000 split three ways doesn’t really make it worth it. You see what I’m saying? So, let’s get in the fucking vault.” 

“She really can’t.” the male bank manager said. 

“What?” Gunman number one demanded walking straight at the man with his gun drawn until he was standing at point blank range. 

“She doesn’t have the keys to open them, I do.” 

“Switch places then.” Gunman number one ordered. “Move!” 

The teller came running out from behind the desk and joined her other manager on the wall, while the male bank manager moved back with gunman number two to the vault. They could hear various banging and rattling as things were being opened up and emptied into the various duffle bags that gunman had apparently brought in with them. 

“Josh?” Donna asked softly. 

“Shh.” he said. “Don’t let them hear you talk.” 

“What do you think’s going to happen when the White House finds out we’re here?” she asked. 

“How are they going to know?” 

“Toby knows we’re here.” 

“Toby knows we’re in this state.” Josh countered quietly. “He doesn’t know we had to go to the bank today.” 

“He’ll call when CJ gets it on the wires.” Donna replied. 

“Shh.” he hushed again. He could tell how nervous she was getting, but he was afraid to draw attention to themselves. 

“Do you think they’re going to kill us?” 

“Donna.” he said again, this time taking her face in his hands. “Stop it.” 

“Hey!” Gunman number one said walking over to the female bank manager. “How do we shut this air conditioning off?” 

“Shut it off?” the woman replied. 

“Yeah. Where do you turn it off?” 

“If we shut it off, it’s going to get like a sauna in here.” 

“I didn’t ask for a fucking science lesson!” the gunman barked. “I asked how to shut it off. I don’t want them pumping some fucking sleeping agent in here.” 

“We should probably close the vents then, too.” Gunman number three said from his position at the window. 

“Take him and show him where to shut it off.” Gunman number one ordered the second bank manager. 

“They’re empty.” Gunman number two announced walking out of the vault with the now full duffle bag. He motioned for the bank manager to get back by the wall and took up a spot next to the first gunman. 

“Now we wait for the phone to ring.” 

 

As it turned out, they didn’t have to wait long. The phone began ringing after a few minutes. 

“You.” Gunman number one said to Donna pointing his gun at her head. “Get up and answer it.” She shook her head emphatically and held on to Josh. “Okay. Let me put it to you this way.” He moved his gun from her head to Josh’s. “Pick up the fucking phone or he dies.” Josh’s eyes widened slightly as he looked down the barrel of the gun. Shaking, Donna pulled herself away, not an easy feat, given the tight grip Josh had on her, and moved to the ringing phone. 

“Hello?” she greeted softly into the phone. 

“This is Detective Phillips with the Sea Isle City Police.” greeted a calm voice on the other end. “Who is this?” 

“Donna Moss.” 

“Donna, is everyone all right?” 

“Mostly.” Donna replied glancing in the direction of the dead security guard. 

“Mostly.” the detective repeated. “Is anyone in need of medical attention?” 

“No.” 

“Okay. It’s all right Donna.” the Detective replied. “How many hostages are in there?” 

“Seven.” 

“What are you telling him?” Gunman number one asked her cautiously. 

“Hey!” Gunman number two said in response. “You’re the one who told her to answer the fucking phone. You didn’t want her to talk?” 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Frankie, I thought this was my party.” Gunman number one said to the now named second gunman. 

“I’m just saying that if there’s stuff you don’t want her to say, either tell her or get her off the phone.” Frankie replied. 

“Don’t tell him how many of us there are or where we’re standing.” Gunman number one ordered. 

“It’s all right, Donna, I heard that.” the Detective said. “Are they ready to give us their demands?” 

“He wants to know if you’re ready to tell him your demands.” Donna said. Josh strained to hear her, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. The phone in her hand was trembling. She was terrified, and he was now incredibly anxious that she was now so far away from him. 

“What?” Gunman number one asked, likewise unable to hear her. 

“He wants to know...” 

“Use your fucking voice, woman!” Gunman number one ordered grabbing Donna forcefully by the wrist and yanking her toward him. She cried out in pain. Josh felt a restraining hand on his arm. He looked over, it was one of the other customers that were in there. He was shaking his head no at Josh. Josh wanted to get up and run to her and make the gunman take his filthy hands off her, but the other man was right. He’d probably end up like the security guard, then Donna would have nobody in here. 

“He wants to know if you’re ready to tell them your demands.” She cried out louder. 

The gunman grabbed the receiver out of her hands. “Call back in half an hour. We’ll be ready for you then. Don’t try anything stupid in between now and then. The security guard’s already dead. Your new friend Donna is next if you do.” 

Gunman number one slammed the phone down pushed Donna back a few feet away from him. “You better hope they don’t do something stupid.” 

“Maybe we should grease the boyfriend first Jay Jay.” Frankie said. “She’s hot. She might be able to help us get out of here.” 

“I’m the one running the show.” Jay Jay reminded. “This is not a fucking democracy. I’m the one that came up with this plan. When it’s your turn, you get to decide who we shoot.” 

“All I’m saying is that she’s a fine looking woman, and we don’t know how long we’re going to be in here. She can make the stay a little more enjoyable than her boyfriend can.” Frankie said. “Just think about it that way.” 

“That is a good a point.” Jay Jay conceded. “Go sit down Donna Moss and rest up. You might need your strength.” 

Donna launched herself back into Josh’s arms. He clutched her tightly and tried to rub her back to get her to stop shaking so violently. “I swear to you, Donna,” he said softly in her ear. “If they hurt you, it will be over my dead body.” 

“That,” Josh heard preceding the sound of the safety of a gun being released next to his ear. “Can be arranged.” 

TBC


	6. Wachovia

“Okay. So we really only have the two demands.” Jay Jay said as the half an hour point arrived. “A helicopter to the airport.” 

“We should have stuck to the fucking liquor stores.” Frankie sighed. 

“Shut the fuck up.” Jay Jay ordered him. “The alarm was your fucking job.” 

“They had a hidden alarm.” Frankie shrugged. “My job was to make sure noone picked up a phone.” 

“Oh my God.” Josh said softly to Donna. “They have no idea what they’re doing.” They were sitting on the floor and he had his arms wrapped tightly around her. He was pretty sure he was going to have bruises later from her fingers digging into him, but he didn’t care. It meant she was still with him and not with the Larry, Moe, and Curly of bank robbers. 

“They’ll be more dangerous then.” the other man said next to Josh. Josh nodded his agreement and then leaned his head against Donna’s. 

“This is all your fault, you know.” he joked quietly to her ear. “You’re the one that wanted to go away this weekend.” 

“YOU’RE the one that wanted to go north instead of south.” she countered, just as quietly. “Not to mention I was going to cook dinner tonight. We bought food and everything.” 

“What about cash?” Jay Jay asked. “There’s like $20K here, but I have no idea what all this jewelry is worth. We might want cash, too.” 

“Screw it.” Frankie waved. “It’ll be traceable stuff anyway.” 

“Well, so’s the jewelry, I’m sure.” Jay Jay replied. “I’m sure they have some kind of inventory of what was in there. They’ll file an insurance claim and it’ll make it harder to unload it later.” 

“You two have no idea how to unload the fucking shit anyway.” barked Gunman number three from the window. “So shut the fuck up about it already. $20,000 will get us to fucking Mexico where my cousin will unload the jewels for us. Stop it with the fucking cash.” 

“I don’t remember asking for your fucking opinion, Ty.” Jay Jay shot back. The gunman by the window shrugged and went back to his look out, just as the phone rang. 

“Donna Moss!” Jay Jay announced. “You’re up. Answer the phone.” Josh kissed her lightly on the forehead, hoping it wasn’t the last time he was going to get to do that, and let her go. She slowly made her way over to the phone and picked it up. 

“Hello?” 

“Donna?” came the detective’s voice from the other end. 

“Yes?” 

“Is everyone still okay?” 

“Yes.” 

“Are they going to get on the phone, or do you know what the demands are?” 

“I don’t know.” she said. “Hang on.” Donna put the receiver down to her chest and looked over at Jay Jay and Frankie. “He wants to know if you’re going to tell him the demands yourself or if you want me to do it.” 

Jay Jay held out his hand for the phone. Donna handed it over and began to walk back to Josh. “Oh no, no, no. You stay right there, Donna Moss.” Jay Jay leered at her. Donna stopped wide eyed where she was and looked back towards the gunman. 

“Ah, Detective Phillips,” Jay Jay said into the phone. “It’s your old by Jay Jay. Yeah, I’ve moved up in the world, pulling bank jobs now. Listen, this is really easy. We want a helicopter to take us to the airport. It’s that simple. You don’t have to come up with a bunch of cash or anything like that. The plane has to have enough fuel to get to Mexico. If it lands anywhere between the airport and Mexico, the first thing we’ll do is grease the pilot and anybody that approaches the plane.” He paused as he listened to the detective speak. “No, I don’t think that time frame’s going to work out for me. We’ll be needing that chopper sooner. Donna Moss dies now for your lack of judgment, and I’ll kill a hostage an hour until you have the fucking chopper ready.” 

He slammed down the phone and steadily held his gun up to take aim at Donna, her eyes widening in terror. “Sorry, sweetie. Frankie’s right. You’re hot and all, but so are the hookers in Mexico, and I’ll just wait for them.” 

Donna played the next series of events over and over in her mind, second by second, frame by frame. For the life of her, she would never be able to understand how somebody as notoriously unstealthy and with such horrible timing as Josh was able to get himself in between that bullet and her. But when she should have been feeling the bullet tearing into her, she was catching his collapsing body in her arms instead. 

Her terrified scream rang out through the silent bank as she lowered them to the floor, cradling him in her lap. The blood was spilling out of him, getting all over them both, and she was having a hard time determining where it was coming from. 

“It’s my shoulder.” he said through gritting teeth. 

“Roll forward a little.” she ordered in a still shaky voice. “Let me see if the bullet came out.” 

He winced as he rolled a bit in her lap so she could see his back. She gasped as she saw the blood and burned fabic of his t-shirt caked around the wound. 

“I take it, it did.” he said again through the pain. 

“Yeah.” she nodded. She gently rolled him back down, trying to position the wound in the back on her leg, so she could try to apply pressure to his back. 

“Well, that wasn’t quite the way that was supposed to go, but whatever.” Jay Jay said moving to stand above them. He raised his gun to Josh again, but Donna threw herself across him. 

“No!” she cried out vehemently. 

“Donna!” he protested against the massive pain she just caused in his shoulder. 

“He’s already shot!” Donna replied. “They all heard the shot outside.” 

“So?” Jay Jay shrugged. 

Before the argument could continue, the phone began ringing again. Jay Jay and Frankie’s attention was immediately drawn to it, and Jay Jay motioned for Frankie to answer it. 

“I can’t believe you did that!” Donna said to Josh crying, as she ran her free hand down his face. Her other one was applying light pressure to the wound on his shoulder. 

“What was I going to do?” he countered. “Let them shoot you? At least I already knew what it was going to be like. He was standing too close to you, you would have been dead right now, then I would have no reason not to make them shoot me anyway.” 

“Josh.” she smiled lightly, and kissed him. “When we get out of here, I’m going to kick your ass for that.” 

“I can save the rest of these people, Donna.” He said quietly while her face was lowered and close to his. 

“What? How?” she demanded. “You’re not going to get all Ramboed up with a bullet wound in your shoulder.” 

“No. If I tell them who I am. I’m a higher bargaining chip.” 

“No, Josh.” she said firmly, shaking her head in denial. “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.” 

“It’ll get you out of here, too.” 

“You can’t possibly think I’m going to leave you here bleeding.” she said indignantly. 

“Donna, I’m just going to lay here and loose blood until I’m dead. These guys aren’t getting out of here.” Josh argued as Donna continued to shake her head at him. “If I can get you out of here, I’m going to.” 

“Sorry, Phillips.” Jay Jay said into the phone. “No good. Another life’s on your hands.” He hung up the phone and looked at Frankie. “Fucking FBI’s out there now.” He shook his head and raised his gun to Donna. “Let’s see how many lives you’ve got there Donna Moss. Your boyfriend will probably bleed to death before he gets out of here anyway.” 

“Wait!” Donna yelped. “It’s a Capital crime, if you kill us.” 

“Donna!” 

“What?” 

“If you’re caught, you’ll be extradited to Washington D.C., if you kill us.” Donna replied. “It’s a mandatory death penalty for killing a federal employee.” 

“Who the hell is the federal employee?” Frankie asked moving to Jay Jay’s side. 

“We both are.” Donna replied. 

“Donna!” Josh protested again. 

“We work at the White House.” 

Josh dropped his head back against her thigh in frustration. They were certainly in it now. 

TBC


	7. Wachovia

“The White House!” Frankie exclaimed. “You work in the fucking White House?” 

“Yes.” 

“What the fuck are you doing in New Jersey?” he demanded. 

“We’re on vacation.” 

“What do you do there?” 

“He’s the Deputy Chief of Staff and I’m his assistant.” Donna answered. 

“You’re fucking your secretary?” Laughed Ty at Josh from the window. 

“No.” Josh said gritting his teeth again. It had pretty much become second nature at this point. 

“You jumped in front of a bullet for a woman and you’re not even screwing her?” Frankie asked. “What the hell is the point of that?” 

“Can we focus, please?” Donna demanded. 

“Donna.” Josh warned softly. The last thing he wanted was for Donna to shoot her mouth off. She’d gone from terrified to stay-the-hell-away-from-injured-Josh-mode, which as he recalled, wasn’t pretty for anyone involved. 

“Sure, we can focus.” said Jay Jay to Donna. “Let’s start with this. What the fuck is a Deputy Chief of Staff and why do I care if he stays alive?” 

“He’s a chief adviser to the President.” Donna continued. “You said the FBI’s out there. They’re not going to want anything to happen to him. Let all the others go and we’ll tell you exactly who can get you what you need at the FBI.” 

“Let the others go?” Jay Jay asked incredulously “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I have seven hostages now. What the hell is the point of two?” 

“I told you, all those FBI agents out there will know who he is.” Donna continued. “They’ll let you get to Mexico if you’re talking to the right guy. Right now, you’re small fish to them. You keep shooting people in here, including us, they’re just going to storm the building. One way or the other, this is going to end soon. Our way has you on a beach by morning.” 

“That true Deputy Chief of Staff?” Frankie asked nudging Josh’s leg with his foot. 

“Yes.” Josh gritted again. 

Jay Jay and Frankie exchanged looks. Frankie shrugged over to Jay Jay. 

“Tell you what, Donna Moss.” Jay Jay said after some contemplation. “I’ll let those other two customers go and the teller. I keep the two bank managers over there. We find out you lied, they die slow deaths. I find out you’re telling the truth, I’ll let another one go.” 

“Okay.” Donna nodded. 

Jay Jay nodded. He walked over to the phone and dialed the number that Detective Phillips said they could reach them at. 

“Phillips.” Jay Jay said. “It seems your little buddy Donna Moss in here is a bit of a better negotiator than you. What’s your name Deputy Chief of Staff?” 

“Josh Lyman.” Josh replied. 

“Ask your FBI guy there if he knows who Josh Lyman is.” Donna held her breath while Jay Jay waited leering evilly at her. “He does. Oh, Donna Moss, you got lucky. Guess what Phillips. I got Mr. Deputy Chief of Staff and his little spitfire of an assistant, Donna Moss, in here with me. I’m going to send four people out, and they’re going to tell give me the name of someone better than you to talk to. Hold your breath now.” 

Jay Jay hung up the phone and motioned from Frankie to the other hostages. “Take the teller and the other two and let them go out the back.” Jay Jay walked over and stood just above Josh and Donna. “You saved four lives today, Donna Moss, let’s see how long you and your boss can keep yours.” 

 

Donna sat up against the wall, still cradling Josh in her lap. He was drifting in and out of consciousness now and looking more and more pale as the time dragged on. It had been an hour since the four hostages were released. The lack of air conditioning was starting to make the bank stuffy and hot. Josh and Donna had given Jay Jay and his gang Mike Casper’s name to the FBI. They weren’t really quite sure what Mike was going to do that the current FBI team outside wasn’t doing, but now someone in the outside world knew they were in here, and by now, certainly the White House did. 

On his way back into the main part of the bank earlier, Frankie had raided a break room in the back and took out the food and drinks he found in there. Because Donna had been such a good girl, Frankie had given them two bottles of water. After she made Josh drink his entire bottle, she poured hers all over his shoulder. She could go with being thirsty. 

Jay Jay had made the remaining bank manager go on line on one of the computers and look Josh up to make sure his story checked out. Thankfully, it did. 

“A fucking politician, huh, Deputy Chief of Staff?” Jay Jay said. “I should shoot you again just out of spite.” 

“I’m a democrat.” Josh replied. Jay Jay didn’t really seem to know what that meant, but he seemed to accept that maybe it meant Josh wasn’t as bad as the others. 

Donna had torn up her new dress and used it to tie around Josh’s shoulder to cover the wound, and to tie a make shift sling to keep his shoulder from moving around. 

“You just bought that dress.” Josh complained when she first started tearing it up. 

“Yes, but I said I bought it for you anyway, right?” she countered. “I’ll admit this wasn’t what I thought it was going to be used for, but it’s still serving the purpose of being for you.” 

“Nice spin.” 

Now that there were less hostages, things seemed slightly more relaxed inside. Jay Jay and Frankie still kept close eye on Josh and Donna, and the bank manager, but they now let them talk to each other, and they let Donna move Josh to a couch that was in a waiting area to the side of the teller’s counter. 

“That was a very brave thing you did.” she said softly running her fingers through his hair. 

“What’s that?” he asked fighting to keep his eyes open. 

“Saving my life.” 

“It’s a life worth saving.” he whispered. 

“I’ll have to do something especially nice for you now.” 

“Coffee.” he said immediately. “I want coffee at work.” 

“I was thinking sex.” Donna confessed. 

“I thought I was going to get that anyway.” 

“You really are incorrigible, Joshua.” she sighed dramatically. 

“It’s why you love me.” he smiled lazily. 

“It’s not the reason,” she said softly. “But it’s one of them.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Of course.” 

“Me too.” 

“You too what?” 

“Me too with the thing.” 

“No way, Joshua.” Donna said adamantly. “I don’t come in with a declaration of love, and you sweep in with, like, a rider. I want the words.” 

“I didn’t actually get them.” he pointed out. Donna thought for a second and realized he was right. She didn’t actually say the words. 

“I love you.” she whispered. 

“I love you, too.” he smiled back. She leaned down and kissed him, as his cell phone rang. Jay Jay and Frankie moved quickly over to them as Donna pulled it out of his pocket. 

“Who the hell is that?” Jay Jay demanded. Donna frowned as she saw a White House number scroll across the screen. “Tell me, Donna Moss, or I’ll blow that fucking phone right out of your hand, and I imagine it’ll take your hand with it.” 

“It’s the White House Chief of Staff.” Donna answered. 

“Who the hell is that?” Frankie demanded. 

“Leo McGarry.” Josh replied. 

“No, not his name. What the fuck does he do?” Frankie qualified. 

“He’s the President’s main adviser. He advises him in every aspect of the job. He’s his right hand man.” 

“I thought that was the Vice President.” Jay Jay said warily. 

“No, not really. It’s this guy.” Josh replied. 

“Should I answer it?” Donna asked. “It’s going to go to voice mail in a second.” 

“What can Leo McGarry do for us?” Jay Jay asked. 

“I’m not sure.” Josh said. “But he’ll know by now we’re here. He wouldn’t be calling my phone otherwise.” 

“Answer it, Donna Moss.” Frankie said. Jay Jay shot him a disapproving look. 

“Hello?” Donna said. 

“Donna?” Leo barked on the other end. 

“Yeah, Leo.” Donna replied. 

“Donna?” she heard the President ask. Donna closed her eyes for a second. She had a feeling she shouldn’t let Jay Jay and Frankie know she was on the line with the President. 

“Yes, it’s me.” she confirmed. 

“We’re all on the line now.” Leo said. “CJ and Toby are here, too.” 

“Is Josh with you?” the President asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Is he okay?” the President asked. 

“Not really.” Donna said. 

“What’s wrong?” the President demanded. 

“Hold on.” Donna said. She covered the mouthpiece and looked at her captors. “If I tell them what happened to him, it’ll make them work faster.” 

“I don’t care.” Jay Jay shrugged. “He’s laying here bleeding either way.” 

“He was shot in the shoulder.” Donna said into the phone. She could hear silence on the other end in, what she assumed was the Oval Office. 

“Is he all right?” the President asked after a long moment. 

“Sort of.” Donna said. She didn’t care if she was making them think he was worse than he was. Every second that they stayed in this God forsaken place was time he didn’t have medical attention. 

“Mike Casper has briefed us, Donna.” Leo said. “You’ll be getting out of there soon. When it happens, you and Josh keep your heads down and find cover.” 

“Okay.” Donna nodded. 

“Give me the phone.” Jay Jay demanded holding out his hand. Shaking and unsure, Donna held the cell phone out to him. 

“Listen to me,” Jay Jay barked into the phone. “Anything funny happens, and I fire my gun in the direction of Mr. Deputy Chief of Staff here. He’s already got one bullet in him, I don’t imagine it’ll take too much to finish him off at this point. And I’m sure Donna Moss here will fetch a nice price in the slave trade down in Mexico. You might want to think through how you’re going to proceed.” 

He snapped the phone shut and tossed it back to Donna. “You know what they do to pretty white girls in the slave trade, Donna Moss?” Jay Jay asked her running a hand down her face. “You’ll be in high demand. You’ll be the money maker of the brothel. A pretty girl like you with all that pretty golden hair, yeah, I don’t envy your future, Donna Moss.” 

TBC


	8. Wachovia

“So what happens now?” CJ asked as they heard the line go dead. 

“The FBI will take the bank.” Leo replied. 

“What about Josh and Donna?” CJ prodded. 

“We hope they get out of the way.” Leo continued. 

“LEO!” CJ cried. “You heard that guy! If the FBI suddenly storms that bank, they’re going to shoot Josh. He’s ALREADY been shot. Again!” 

“CJ, this isn’t the first time the FBI’s done this.” Leo replied calmly. “It’s going to happen very quickly. They won’t have time to shoot Josh.” 

“How do you know that Leo?” CJ countered. “We don’t know where Josh is in the bank. They could be right next to him.” 

“We think we know.” Leo replied. “There’s heat sensors. We’re pretty sure Josh and Donna are in a specific corner. Plus, they’re not just going to kick the door in. They’re going to use tear gas or those nutty flash bombs they’ve got that makes everything really bright and you can’t see unless you have special glasses on.” 

“That description was for me or for CJ?” the President quipped to Leo. 

“Sir...” Leo began. 

“When he gets back here, Leo,” the President began. “I want this Carrick thing with him fixed. We’ve twiddled our thumbs long enough. He played the way we pay him to play. He’s been pretty stressed about it, Toby says, and it’s why he took time off. He’s in there because of you and me.” 

“No, sir. He’s in there because he decided to take a weekend off.” 

“Which he’s never done before.” the President countered. 

“We also need to take note of the fact that he went away for the weekend with Donna.” Toby interjected. 

“I don’t really care about that at the moment.” Leo said dismissively. 

“No, not right now because she’s the best person to have at his side at the moment.” Toby said. “But when he comes out of that bank and CNN sees him come out with Donna, you’re certainly going to care about it.” 

“No, I’m really not.” Leo replied. “We’re in our second term. It’s not going to be the downfall of the President. I can reassign her on paper, I can switch things up, I can say the White House doesn’t comment on the personal lives of their staff. It’s not like it’s something that’s going to trigger a Congressional investigation. And I actually think seeing it on CNN isn’t going to come as a surprise to anybody either.” 

“It’s also not like it’s something that’s just going to go away if we ignore it either.” CJ said. 

“Do we know that they’re even together?” the President finally asked. “They’re friends. They’ve always been closer than anyone else here. We’re immediately going to assume that something is going on romantically?” 

“Well, it is Josh and Donna, sir.” Toby said. 

“What does that mean?” the President replied. 

“It means that there’s always been an undercurrent with them.” Toby said. “And Josh got really defensive when I said something to him about it.” 

“I would, too.” the President said. “She’s stood by his side through this whole thing. Both of you, I might remind you, have advised me to ask for his resignation for the good of PR, words I never thought I’d hear from either one of you. Donna’s loyal to him. He saw you as questioning her character, Toby, casting an ugly shadow on the one relationship in his life right now that’s still stable. Of course he got defensive.” 

“Sir....” CJ began. 

“He hasn’t done anything wrong.” the President insisted. “Even if something has happened between him and Donna this weekend, I don’t think you two are in a position to pass any kind of judgment. Yet he who is without sin cast the first stone, right?” That effectively shut CJ and Toby up. 

“Do we know if Donna was hurt, sir?” CJ asked. They’d been so wrapped up in Josh and the issue of Josh and Donna that they seemed to have forgotten all together that she was in there, even though they’d just spoken to her on the phone. 

“We don’t.” Leo said. “Though I would assume by that conversation, that Josh is worse off than she is. Trouble always seems to find that kid.” 

 

Donna sized up the couch she was sitting on with Josh. She wondered about the feasibility of turning it over and getting herself and Josh behind it when the FBI made their move. Josh was unconscious now, pale, and felt like he was running a fever. She was pretty sure that he was going to be no help when that started. Maybe she could just push it forward and drag him behind it. That was probably going to be her best bet. 

She didn’t know too much about what was about the happen, other than the FBI coming in in a blaze of glory. She knew that they had things they were going to use to make the robbers inside defenseless, tear gas, things like that. Mike had once told her about flash grenades they sometimes used, too. Josh had told her in the past that once situations got to this level, they past the point where they can end good, and they just ended quickly. 

Suddenly, she wished she was the one that was unconscious. Of course, if it wasn’t for Josh, she would be the one unconscious right now, or likely dead. Jay Jay was awfully close her when he fired, and he had his gun aimed right at her chest. She probably would be dead right now. Her eyes teared up as she looked down at him. He must have lost a lot of blood by now to be in this kind of shape. Both he and Jay Jay had said that he was just going to bleed to death in this bank. 

For the first time in four years, she began to pray. The last time she prayed, incidentally, was the last time that hot lead was shot into his body. She smiled at the memory of the day she told him that story. Here she was again, praying for health and strength. 

“Donna Moss!” Jay Jay barked at her. God, she was coming to hate the sound of her own name. She looked up from Josh’s face in her lap to who she now thought of the most evil, incompetent bank robber she’d ever heard of. “The FBI’s awful quiet out there. What are they doing?” 

“I don’t know.” she shrugged. 

“I thought you worked for the White House.” 

“I do. I work for the White House, not the Justice Department.” 

“Don’t talk in code, what the fuck does that mean?” Jay Jay demanded. 

“It means she doesn’t know what the FBI is going to do. She doesn’t deal with those kinds of things.” Josh said quietly but forcefully. The level of Jay Jay’s voice must have brought him back from whatever land of slumber he’d been in. 

“And you do Deputy Chief of Staff?” he asked angrily. 

“Yes.” he said. “If I were in the White House, I’d be the guy they were talking to now about this.” 

“So, what are they doing?” Frankie asked. 

“You asked for a helicopter and plane at an airport.” Josh replied. “They’re getting it together.” 

“They’re not going to come busting in here?” Jay Jay asked skeptically. 

“Probably not.” Josh lied. “That’s usually only when kids are involved.” 

“What about you?” 

“What about me?” 

“You’re in here; you’re pretty important.” 

“Isn’t in their better interest to get me out safely by giving you what you want?” he replied. 

Jay Jay and Frankie seemed to accept that moved back to their posts by the teller’s counter and Josh thought they really were less than worthy opponents. For crying out loud, Hollywood could tell them what the FBI was going to do. OF COURSE, they were going to come busting in here! But if these two were easily convinced otherwise, who was Josh to tell them the truth. Let them be lulled into their false sense of security. 

He looked back up at Donna and smiled up at her. She leaned down and kissed his forehead and he closed his eyes. “It’s going to be fast, loud, and surprising.” he said to her quietly. 

“I know.” she said shaking her head. “I want to try and get us behind this couch.” 

“Good plan.” 

“How are you doing?” 

“I feel like shit.” 

“You have a fever.” 

“What have you been doing?” 

“Praying.” 

“Health and strength?” 

“Yeah.” she smiled. 

“Do you only pray for that when I’ve been shot?” 

“It would seem to be the pattern.” 

“I don’t like that pattern.” 

“Neither do I.” 

“When we get back to Washington, Donna, I’m serious. I think I’m going to resign.” 

“This was just dumb luck.” Donna said waving a finger around the room. 

“I know.” he nodded. 

“You still have things left you want to do.” 

“Not right now, I don’t.” 

Not for this President, he meant. He’s lost faith in President Bartlet. Donna didn’t bother arguing anymore with him about it. He’d also lost a lot of blood, was running a fever, and now there was the issue of the two of them. She thought he was making the decision under heightened emotional and physical circumstances. Josh only acted when backed into a corner. He was backed into a corner now, and trapped. 

“You’ll come with me?” he asked. 

“I said I would.” she smiled. 

“Last time I got shot, you moved in with me.” he smiled. 

“I did. It drove you nuts.” she reminded. 

“I don’t think it’ll make me so nuts this time.” 

TBC


	9. Wachovia

After a six hour stand off, it did happen quickly. The tear gas crashed through the windows and doors first. Jay Jay, Frankie and Ty moved to fire at the doors and paid no attention to Josh and Donna or the remaining bank manager. Thankfully, Josh was awake at the time and was able to summon enough strength to roll off the couch and crawl around while Donna pushed it back from the wall and they slid behind it. 

“Close your eyes and cover your mouth.” Josh instructed. They buried their heads together and as close to the floor and covered as they could. They heard the volley of gun fire back and forth, but it didn’t last long. The three bank robbers couldn’t see through the gas, and quickly succumb to its effects. 

“Josh! Donna!” called a familiar voice through the now eerie silence. 

“Over here!” Donna called back, but began to violently start coughing as she sucked in a large amount of the chemical agent. The couch was moved and many strong arms were picking them both up and carrying them out. 

“Take them to the same place.” Mike directed the waiting ambulance crew. Mike jumped into the back of ambulance Josh was loaded into as the doors slammed shuts and the ambulances took off. 

“Where’s Donna?” Josh demanded coughing. 

“She’s in the other ambulance.” Mike replied. 

“Why? What happened?” 

“We pumped tear gas into a small, confined space.” Mike reminded. “That’s what happened. They’re going to give her oxygen and help calm her down.” 

“Ow! Shit!” Josh yelled as the paramedic began to remove the dressing on Josh’s shoulder. 

“Sorry, sir.” the medic apologized, though made did not alter his assessment. 

An oxygen mask was placed over his face. He tried to breathe deeply, but between the pain in his shoulder, the fever and the gas, it wasn’t long before he was unconscious again. 

As for Donna, she couldn’t seem to stop vomiting in the back of the ambulance she was in. Tears were continuously running down her face and when she wasn’t vomiting, she was coughing violently. Her arms and her neck felt like they were on fire, and no one was answering her questions on the whereabouts of Josh. 

Finally, she dug her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Josh’s number. 

“Josh’s phone.” answered a familiar voice. 

“Mike?” Donna coughed. 

“Donna?” 

“Why are you answering Josh’s phone?” 

“He’s unconscious, I saw it was your number.” 

“Hold on.” she said as she vomited again in the ever present basin next to her. 

“Ma’am, the oxygen will help you.” the medic gently prodded. 

“What the hell is going on with him, Mike?” she demanded once she had temporarily composed herself. 

“They’re treating his shoulder, giving him fluids and oxygen. He was talking a minute ago, but he’s running a fever.” Mike explained. “It’s all right, Donna. He’s been in worse shape than this.” 

“Yeah, no shit.” Donna scoffed before coughing again. 

“Donna, let them given you oxygen.” Mike said into the phone. “It’ll help you out. You’re going to the same hospital. You know Josh would want you to cooperate. The tear gas is causing a reaction in you. Let them take care of you, so you’ll be all right when Josh gets out of surgery.” 

“Surgery!?” she yelped. 

“Well, I assume they’ll have to repair the damage to his shoulder.” Mike said. “I’ll find you at the hospital. Just lay back and relax, and let them do their job.” He disconnected the call and Donna flopped back onto the stretcher, finally allowing the medic to put the oxygen mask over her face and hoping it worked before the vomiting started again. 

 

“Tell me good news, Mike.” the President said into the speaker phone as he, Leo, Toby and CJ crowded around an extension on the end table in the Oval Office. 

“Josh is in surgery now so they can repair the damage to his shoulder. The bullet had gone straight through. He lost a lot of blood, so he’s going to be transfused and they have to bring his fever down. He should be fine though.” Mike explained. 

“And Donna?” Leo asked. 

“She’s madder than a nest of hornets, sir.” Mike smiled. “She’s being kept for observation. It seems she’s particularly sensitive to CS gas. She’s been vomiting and has developed blisters on her arms and neck. She’s demanding to see Josh when he comes out.” 

“That sounds about right.” the President smiled. “I’m sure we can get her some help there. Toby and Leo are going to fly up. They’re leaving in a few minutes. We were just waiting on you guys. What about the robbers?” 

“One’s dead; the other two succumb pretty quickly to the effects of the gas and they’re in custody. They’re also being treated at the moment.” 

“Well done, Mike.” the President said. 

“Thank you, sir.” 

The President disconnected and turned to his three staff members. “He’ll try and resign, Leo.” the President said to his chief advisor. 

“I’m sure he will, sir.” Leo nodded. 

“I don’t want him to.” 

“He may have been planning it before all this happened.” Leo noted. 

“He may have.” the President agreed. “But I’m not ready to give him up just yet. The budget’s coming up, then the State of the Union, midterms. There’s too much here still I need him here for. You and Toby need to convince him. If he waivers, convince Donna.” 

“You’re also assuming Donna’s going to let anyone near him.” Toby muttered. “You didn’t have to deal with her rules last time.” 

“No.” the President chuckled. “I had to deal with the First Lady’s rules. They were worse.” 

TBC


	10. Wachovia

“Donna?” Josh called softly as he swam back up to the depths of consciousness. 

“I’m right here.” she said moving to his side. She sat down next to him on the bed and took his hand in hers. “How do you feel?” 

“Better than I did the last time I woke up after this happened.” 

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. 

“Of course,” he said smiling. “I didn’t get you doing that last time either.” 

“Yes, you did.” she said. “You were just unconscious at the time.” 

“Damn. Missed all the good stuff.” 

“Leo and Toby are on their way.” Donna hedged. “They should be here in an hour or so.” 

“Ah. So we should probably get our stories straight.” he replied. 

“There are stories to get straight?” she asked wide eyed. 

“Leaving the White House.” Josh reminded. 

“Maybe you should hold off on that.” she said hesitantly. 

“Donna.” he groaned, rolling his eyes in frustration. 

“It’s just that you’re going to have to take a week or two off anyway, and then you’ll have to go through physical therapy for your shoulder, that’ll last a few months. You’ll need insurance to do that. By the time that’s done, maybe you’ll have changed your mind.” she said. 

“If I haven’t?” 

“Then we’ll talk.” she shrugged. 

“I’ve been thinking this way for a while.” he reminded. 

“Since stupid Carrick, all of a week.” she countered. 

“Since Zoe.” 

“All of two months.” 

“Then there’s us.” he argued. 

“What about us?” 

“I wasn’t kidding around before.” he said pulling her closer. “I want there to be an us, and I don’t think they’re going to be bursting with joy about it. The first thing Leo’s going to try and do is split us up, which is going to render me completely useless there anyway. Leo’s not going to be looking to do me any favors right now.” 

“Why don’t you wait to see what he has to say first before condemning him to role of bad, unsupportive boss.” Donna advised. 

“Come lay by me.” he requested tugging her hand again. 

“I don’t want to hurt you.” she denied shaking her head. 

“You won’t. You’re on the other side.” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Please Donna?” he asked softly. 

Dammit, she thought, he said please. He NEVER says please. She sighed dramatically and crawled up next to him. His arm came around her, and she immediately relaxed against him. Since he’d gotten shot in the bank, she had been doing most of the comforting. She didn’t realize until that moment how much she needed him to comfort her, too. 

“We definitely didn’t do this last time.” he smiled. And she laughed. But soon, her laughter turned to crying. “It’s all right.” he said soothingly, kissing her forehead. “It’s all over and we’re both all right.” 

“I’m sorry.” she said, trying to wipe her eyes. They still stung a bit. 

“What the hell is all over your arms?” he demanded as he was finally taking notice of the rest of her body. She was in hospital scrubs, but her arms and neck were still exposed, and loaded with blisters. 

“They said I had a reaction to the CS gas.” Donna sniffed turning her arm so he could get a better look. 

“It’s on your neck, too.” he noted, pushing her head up a bit. 

“Yeah.” 

“Shit, Donna.” he gasped quietly. “Is it anywhere else?” 

“A few on the inside of my throat.” she explained. “They gave me drugs for them; something that’s making me pretty tired.” 

He nudged her head back down to his shoulder and pulled her hair off her face and shoulder. He leaned his head against hers and continued to stroke her hair, as she silently cried herself to sleep. The events of the day began to settle and take hold now. He admitted to himself that he was coming pretty close to losing it now himself. 

He couldn’t feel the pain anymore in his shoulder. The painkillers he was on were pretty strong at the moment. When he thought about the minor inconvenience physical therapy was going to be compared to what would have happened to Donna...there just wasn’t any other option there. Jay Jay was far too close to her. There was no way she would have been able to survive it. None. Watching her murdered violently, and living without her, wasn’t an option. 

He loved her. He had finally gotten off his ass and admitted it. Leo and the President knew by now that he had gone away with her for the weekend. Of course, when he agreed, he hadn’t really intended for anything to happen between them, it just turned out that the timing was right. She kept telling him now to wait it out and not resigned. It hadn’t even occurred to her yet that he just might get fired now anyway. Between Carrick and crossing the line of professionalism with her, Josh would be surprised if they didn’t fire him. And resigning was a hell of a lot better than getting fired. At the moment, he didn’t really care about getting fired, but he was sure that wouldn’t be the case when the smoke cleared after the events of the weekend. 

He hugged her tighter to him with his one good arm. She was going to stay with him again while he recovered. Of course, he wouldn’t be anywhere near as incapacitated as he was the last time, but he didn’t care. Really, it was an excuse at the moment to get her there and then convince her to stay. 

TBC


	11. Wachovia

“Well, looks like you’ll get to test out your plan after all, Leo.” Toby said softly as he and Leo paused outside the hospital room before entering. Toby had paused before opening the door when he saw Josh and Donna’s position on the bed. Donna was sound asleep on Josh’s shoulder, while he was awake. He looked up when he saw them standing there. 

Toby took a deep breath and pushed opened the door, followed by Leo. Josh put a finger up to his lips to them. He didn’t want them to wake Donna up. He wanted to let her sleep. He also was hoping she wouldn’t wake up and hear the conversation that was sure to ensue now. 

“How are you two doing, kid?” Leo asked. 

Josh shrugged. “I’ve been shot again. But all things considered...” 

“How did you end up getting shot?” Toby asked. “Was it when they first came in?” 

“No. One of the gunmen was going to shoot Donna.” Josh answered. 

“And you jumped in front of it?” Toby asked. 

“He was standing really close to her, and aiming for her heart. She would have died instantly. OF COURSE, I jumped in front of it.” Josh said a little frustrated. 

“Are you two trying to save money on the hospital bill?” Toby continued gesturing to where Donna was curled up into Josh’s side. 

“Toby.” Josh sighed running a hand over his face. 

“I’m just trying to get a read on the situation, Josh.” 

“Let me help you out then. It’s exactly what it looks like.” 

“All right.” Leo said jumping in. “We’re not overly concerned about that at the moment, Josh.” 

“Good. Because I’m not really concerned about it either. It’s the way it is now.” Josh replied. 

“We’ll get to that.” Leo assured. “At the moment, I want to talk about your place in the administration.” 

“Donna doesn’t want me to resign.” 

“Neither does the President.” Leo continued. “He wants you to stay on. He doesn’t like the way we’ve been handling the Carrick thing.” 

“What about you, Leo?” Josh asked. 

“I serve at the pleasure of the President, and so do you.” Leo countered. 

“No. Toby serves at the pleasure of the President, and so do I. That’s his line.” Josh retorted. “You and I are something different, Leo.” 

“Yes, we are.” Leo agreed. 

“Yes, we are.” Josh repeated. “So, don’t jerk me around. What about you?” 

“I don’t like the whole situation, Josh.” Leo said sitting down on the end of the bed. “I don’t like what Carrick did with you, but I also don’t like how the democrats are reacting to it either. My job’s not easy, Josh.” 

Josh paused for a minute there. It was the first time that he had ever heard Leo come close to complaining about his job and it was definitely something to take a moment on. This job ruined Leo’s marriage; it dragged his past indiscretions with drugs and alcohol out for fodder for tabloids and talk shows; it almost killed his best friend, and his close friend’s son; it was killer on his sleep cycle and stress levels. Never once did Leo complain about his job. 

“There’s a lot coming up we need you for.” Leo continued. “The State of the Union, midterms, the budget, all things specifically mentioned by the President he wants you to be around to weigh in on.” 

“I didn’t just get off the bus, Leo.” Josh said. “I know how bad it would look if you fired me now. I know it looks better to wait until the dust settles and then ask for my resignation.” 

“That’s not what it is.” Leo assured. “You also should consider Donna.” Josh’s gaze shot defiantly up at Leo. “If you leave, Josh, she’ll leave with you. She’s good at what she does. She’s become a pretty important piece of the machine there. She’s growing a lot.” 

“You want to reassign her.” Josh concluded. 

“Only on paper.” Leo confirmed. “I want to shift things around a bit so it’s more like she works with you and not FOR you.” 

“She’s always worked WITH me, Leo.” 

“I know.” Leo agreed. “I want it to look that way now.” 

“You’re not going to fire her in a couple of months for something stupid, but it’s really for this?” Josh asked cautiously. 

“Josh.” Toby warned. 

But Josh continued to stare Leo down. Josh was obviously the one with the ball right now. The President wanted him. He had a little bit of room to make some demands. 

“No.” Leo promised. “The President has always been very fond of Donna and the quality of work she does for him.” 

“She does it for me.” Josh shot back. 

“Josh.” Leo said rolling his eyes. “Josh, you’re on some pretty heavy drugs, you’ve been shot again, someone tried to kill Donna, there’s a certain amount of crap I’ll tolerate from you right now, but only a certain amount. 

“I do what I do well, Leo.” Josh said changing the tone of his voice to something more respectful. “And I do it well because of her. Everybody in that building knows that. I don’t do my job well because she answers my phone nicely, or gets me out the door on time. I do it well because she’s the best researcher in that building. I do it well because she can fully brief me on any given issue between the time it takes me to walk from my office to the Roosevelt Room. I’m not kidding around; I want to put her on a stamp.” 

“Josh, it’s a change on paper.” Leo said again. “I don’t know how many other ways you want me to say it. When you walk out your office door, she’ll be there.” 

Josh sighed and leaned his head against Donna’s. She was still sleeping, though how he had no idea because he was certainly getting worked up; must have been the drugs they gave her for those blisters. 

“How long are you here for?” Leo asked. 

“Sunday, if no infection sets in.” 

“How long until you’re back at work?” 

“A week from Monday.” 

“Why don’t you and Donna spend the week up here?” Leo suggested rising up. “Spend the week up here, relax, sleep, call Stanley, you’ll probably need it, come talk to me again Monday morning, bring Donna into my office with you, if you want.” 

Josh didn’t answer as he considered Leo’s proposal. It was probably best for all involved. Tensions were running a little high right now on both sides, and Josh wasn’t exactly thinking completely rationally at the moment. 

“You can’t do you job without Donna.” Leo said. “I can’t do my job without you.” 

Leo turned and walked out of the room and Toby hung back for a moment. Josh looked up him in question. 

“Mazel tov, Joshua.” Toby said quietly gesturing over towards Donna. “Best decision you ever made.” Then he, too, disappeared out of the hospital room. 

TBC


	12. Wachovia

“Oh Donna! You scared me!” 

“Mrs. Lyman!” Donna yelped jumping up from the chair she had been sitting in at the kitchen table. 

“How are you, honey?” Sylvia Lyman cooed crossing the dark kitchen and giving Donna a big hug. 

“Um, I’m okay.” Donna said. “I couldn’t sleep though. Josh didn’t tell me you were coming up.” 

“He doesn’t know.” 

“Well, Mrs. Lyman, he’ll be happy to see you.” Donna smiled. 

“Donna, honey, after all these years, I really think you can call me Sylvia.” 

“If you’d prefer.” 

“I’d prefer.” Sylvia smiled. “Now, it’s late, Donna. It’s 12:30. Are you having trouble sleeping?” 

Donna looked down at the table and nodded. She had just as much of a hard time lying to Josh’s mom as she did lying to Josh. She didn’t have any trouble falling asleep, it was staying asleep that was the issue. 

“Why don’t I make us some tea, and you and I can catch up then?” Sylvia suggested. “It was a long drive. It took two days. I’m tired, but I’m not quite ready for bed yet.” 

“You drove?” Donna asked amazed. “Josh is going to freak out.” 

“I can handle my son.” Sylvia waved dismissively as she moved to put water in the tea kettle. “There may be many people on this planet that are afraid of him, but I am not one of them.” Donna smiled up at her. She’d always like his mother. They’d spent a lot of time together after Josh was shot at the hospital and then at Josh’s apartment that summer. Donna talked to Sylvia often if she called and Josh was out of the office or in a meeting. Donna always found it odd that Josh never cared that she talked to his mother. He’d just shrug and beg her not to repeat any embarrassing childhood stories around their friends. 

“You know what?” Sylvia said looking down at the two waiting mugs with tea bags in them. “Screw the kettle. That’s what microwaves are for.” Donna laughed and watched as Sylvia moved around the kitchen, putting water in the mugs. “You know what, honey? Why don’t you go into the living room? I’ll bring these in when they’re ready.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help you?” Donna asked. 

“With the incredibly involved process of nuking water for tea?” Sylvia countered. 

“Fair point.” Donna smiled and went to settle herself on an oversized chair in the living room she was growing quite fond of. Donna waited in the living room and Sylvia emerged after a few minutes and handed Donna her mug of tea. 

“It’s green tea, honey, so it’s got no caffeine in it.” Sylvia supplied. She settled herself on the couch and then looked over at Donna appraisingly. “Joshua seems to be a little conflicted about his job.” 

“I don’t blame him.” Donna shrugged. “I don’t think he should resign because I don’t think he did anything wrong, but he’s having a hard time making the decision.” 

“It’s not a hard decision for him, Donna.” Sylvia smiled. “If that’s where you are, that’s where he’ll be.” Donna blushed and looked away from Josh’s mother. She knew that he told his mother about the progression of their relationship, but talking about it was a little new. “Joshua’s never had a home base to speak of.” Sylvia went on. “He’s always had a place to live, but home for Joshua has always been where his heart is. His heart’s with you. If you’re at the White House, that’s where he’ll be.” 

“Well, how does that work?” Donna laughed. “For a couple of years now, I’ve made it my mission to make sure he has what he needs to be happy. If I make him stay at the White House, he won’t be happy with his job, and then I’ll be failing him.” 

“He’ll be indifferent to his job.” Sylvia disagreed shaking her head. “You’ll be with him. And you, Donna, have never failed him.” 

“I think I did once.” Donna said softly looking down into her tea. 

“No, you didn’t.” 

Donna looked up a the tone of absolute conviction in Sylvia’s voice. Her facial expression was just as resolute as her tone. 

“I know what you’re thinking of.” Sylvia continued. “I don’t know the specifics, but I remember talking to him at the time. He says he failed you then.” 

“No! He fixed everything as always.” Donna said vehemently shaking her head. “He always has to fix things.” 

“He doesn’t HAVE to fix anything, Donna.” Sylvia replied. “That’s what you do for each other. You fix HIM all the time. You fixed him after he got shot, you fixed him after the nightmares began consuming him, you’re fixing him now. You’re like a Joshua mechanic. You should have a diploma on your wall for it or something.” 

Donna laughed and then covered her mouth quickly. She didn’t want to wake Josh up. She wasn’t sure that was possible given the strength of painkillers he was still on, but still, if he knew she was up, he’d want to be out here with her. Donna’s laugh soon became a yawn and she stretched her legs out onto the ottoman in front of the chair. 

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens when we’re back in Washington.” Donna said. Sylvia smiled as she watched Donna’s eyes get heavier as she tried to fight off the sleep. It would only be a matter of moments now before she....there she went, off to sleep. 

Sylvia stood up quietly and took the mug from Donna’s hands, then gently laid a quilt over her. She’d be asleep for a while now, and Sylvia was reasonably certain it’d be a deep sleep. 

 

“Mom!” Josh noted in surprise when he walked into the kitchen the next morning. “When did you get here?” 

“Late last night.” Sylvia answered from her position making breakfast at the stove. Josh walked over to kiss her hello, but Sylvia grabbed him in a big hug, when she pulled back, she smacked him in the head. “Jumping in front of bullets; what the hell is the matter with you?” 

“It was going to kill her.” Josh said softly. 

“And you can’t live without her.” Sylvia concluded knowingly. 

“No.” 

“Six years I’ve been waiting for you to figure that out.” 

“Well, I knew I loved her; I just didn’t know I couldn’t live without her until I was faced with the possibility of actually having to.” Josh said as he swiped a piece of bacon. 

“I see.” Sylvia said. “And in case you actually cared, Joshua, yes, that’s turkey bacon.” 

“Ew!” 

“Somebody in this family has to remember we’re Jewish.” his mother admonished. “And you didn’t think it was gross until I told you. You had no idea it wasn’t pork.” 

He shrugged in defeat and picked up another piece. 

“I’m glad to see Donna’s finally sleeping peacefully.” Josh said as he looked over to where Donna was currently unconscious in the living room. 

“Yeah, well, sleeping pills will do that to you.” 

“She took a sleeping pill?” Josh asked surprised. 

“She drank some tea.” Sylvia countered. 

“You DRUGGED her?” Josh exclaimed. 

“You said she was having nightmares. The poor thing looked dead on her feet when I got here. What was I supposed to do, you tell me.” 

Josh gaped in astonishment at his mother. He was in awe that she had taken it as her responsibility to see Donna got some sleep. 

“It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve ever done it, Joshua.” Sylvia continued, as Josh’s look of astonishment turned to pure mortification. “I had to do it once when we stayed with you that summer, too. She was exhausted from staying up so much at night in case you needed her.” 

“Mother,” Josh said firmly. “I absolutely FORBID you to ever drug Donna again. Do you understand me?” 

“Both times was for her own good.” Sylvia defended. 

“Do. You. Understand. Me?” Josh insisted. 

“Fine.” Sylvia huffed turning back to the stove. “Let her drop from exhaustion, then you’ll get all worked up into a tizzy because she’ll be in the hospital, I’ll have to come up here and take care of you...” 

“Enough with the guilt.” Josh said. 

“It’s not like I got her stoned and took her to get a tattoo.” 

“Ever. Again. Mom.” Josh repeated. “Do not do it ever again.” 

“Josh?” Donna called from the living room. He moved over to where she was and crawled onto the chair next to her, cupping her face and kissing her good morning. Sylvia smiled at the vision before her; the vision she’d always hoped she’d see. 

“How are you feeling, honey?” she asked Donna. 

Donna raised her head and looked over to Sylvia in the kitchen, then gave her a mock glare. “You did it again.” she accused good naturedly. “I should have known when you said, oh, I’ll bring you the tea, Donna. I should have known.” 

“Well, Joshua’s forbidden me from ever doing it again, so you’re safe from my maniacal hand.” Sylvia quipped putting plates on the kitchen table. 

“I’m sorry she did that.” Josh said softly gaining Donna’s attention again. Donna shrugged as Josh smoothed down her hair with his free hand. 

“It was a deep, dreamless sleep.” Donna replied. “Though, I’m a little fuzzy headed now.” 

“Stanley will help you with the nightmares.” Josh assured. 

“You living and breathing helps me with the nightmares.” she smiled back. 

“Are you two going to lay around like a couple of slack-asses all day, or come in and eat breakfast?” 

TBC


	13. Wachovia

“Welcome back, mi amore.” CJ greeted entering Josh’s office. He was standing behind his desk, sipping coffee from a mug and looking down at something on his desk. 

“Thanks, CJ.” 

“I’m glad I get to say those words.” CJ hedged walking a little further into the office. 

“Why wouldn’t you?” Josh countered. CJ shrugged and looked up at him. “Did Toby and Leo tell everybody?” 

“Just me.” 

Josh rolled his eyes and sat down at his desk. Just then, Donna breezed in, right by CJ. She walked right behind his desk to Josh, plucked the coffee mug out of his hand, and replaced it with a steaming cup from Starbucks. Then, turned on her heel and walked back out. 

“Did she just give you coffee?” CJ laughed amazed sitting down across from him. 

“It’s the nice thing she’s decided to do to repay me.” Josh explained with a roll of his eyes. 

“Repay you?” 

“I think we’re even. Figuratively speaking, she’s saved my life more than I’ve saved hers.” Josh explained waving a hand at the empty door Donna had just disappeared through. “But, she’s got this in her head.” 

“If you’re looking for added incentive to stay, and let me just say I really want you to, you should know that most of the women in this building are now hopelessly in love with you.” CJ smiled. 

“What?” 

“Margaret took something of a poll last week in the Mess during lunch.” CJ replied. “It seems that most of the women in this building want you to be their man.” 

“Suddenly this interest in me?” 

“You jumped in front of a bullet for Donna.” CJ smiled. “You’re a woman’s hero.” 

“How many times do people around here expect me to get shot?” Josh laughed. 

“I’m not kidding.” CJ replied. “It seems you are exactly what the women around here want. I, myself, think it proves that there really is no accounting for taste, but that’s just me.” 

“Always there to boost my ego, Claudia Jean.” 

“I think they think that that kind of mentality slips over into other aspects of your relationship.” 

“Obviously, this can’t be the women that work out there in the bullpen because they hear how I yell for her.” 

“They think it’s because you need her.” CJ said. 

“Well, yeah, of course it is....I mean, yeah I need her. We’re at work, she’s my assistant, I often need her.” 

“No, Josh. They think you NEED her.” 

“I do.” 

“You’re not understanding me.” 

“I am.” Josh nodded. “I jumped in front of a freaking bullet because I NEED her, not because I didn’t want to train a new assistant, I need HER. In this case, these phantom women of yours are absolutely right.” 

“And Joshua Lyman doesn’t need anybody.” CJ teased. 

“He needs Donnatella Moss. And Donnatella Moss likes to work in the White House.” 

“So we’ll continue to put up with you.” CJ said standing up. 

“Try not to sound so excited about it.” 

“I’m glad you’re all right.” CJ said quietly. 

“I’m better than all right.” 

 

“All I’m saying,” Josh said as he moved to the other side of Donna on the line in the Mess. “Is that I was promised you staying with me.” 

“You promised yourself that.” Donna reminded as she dropped two containers of fruit on the tray in front of her. 

“You agreed.” 

“You had a fever; I don’t know if you’re remembering that accurately.” 

“Are you going to make me beg?” he demanded then ordered his burnt burger from the chef behind the counter. 

“Right here in the Mess?” Donna smiled turning around and looking at the near full room. She was a little surprised to see most were looking at them, and they were women. “I should. That’ll give me a lot of street cred around here.” 

“Like it would really be a surprise to anyone.” Josh mumbled dropping a bottle of Coke and a water bottle on the tray. Donna immediately replaced the soda bottle with another bottle of water. “You said you’d stay with me; I wasn’t delirious.” 

“Joshua, I’m paying rent on an apartment.” Donna reminded. “I should go to it every now and then, pick up my mail, water the plants.” They moved down the line a little further. Josh picked up a bag of Fritos; Donna plucked it from his hand and put it back. “Why are all these women looking at us?” 

“They’re looking at me.” Josh replied taking his burger and fries from the chef and putting it on the tray Donna was pushing along. 

“Why?” 

“Margaret took a poll last week. They’re in love with me. They want me to get shot for them, too. You know, I’d bet one of them would stay with me.” 

“Joshua, I never said you couldn’t stay at my place with me.” she pointed out. 

“Really?” he asked. “This wasn’t a you wanted space or time apart thing?” 

“Why would you think that?” she demanded as they reached the register. 

“I don’t know.” Josh shrugged. He pulled out his wallet and paid the cashier for their lunch. “I’ll take the tray, you take the drinks. Let’s eat upstairs.” Donna plucked the two water bottles off the tray and follow him. 

“Hi, Josh.” a woman near the door smiled at him. 

“Hi.” he said back before turning back to Donna. “Do I know her?” Donna shrugged and walked along side him. Women were smiling at him and saying hello as they walked down the hall. Donna finally stopped and gaped in appalled shock at him. 

“What?” 

“They’re doing this with ME standing right next to you!” she exclaimed indignantly. “I mean, they have NO shame!” 

Josh paused a moment, then cocked his head to the side. “Are you jealous, Donnatella?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” she huffed spinning and stalking down the hall. 

“You are!” Josh smiled running to catch up with her. “You ARE jealous. Finally! All these years, I thought it was just me.” 

“Get over yourself, Josh.” she said as they walked into his office. He pushed the door closed behind him and set the tray on the desk, then massaged his shoulder absent-mindedly. Donna appeared at his side and replaced his hand with her two strong ones. “If you stay with me tonight, Josh,” she whispered huskily in her ear, “we can get naked, and I’ll kiss it better.” 

“You will?” he squeaked turning his head to hers. She nodded and he took note of the smokey color of her eyes. 

“You better take advantage of it while you can, there will be voodoo dolls made of me soon.” Donna predicted sitting down in her spot and picking up her fruit. 

“Did you say blow up dolls?” Josh asked dropping down into his chair. 

“Yes, Josh, you pervert.” Donna deadpanned. “I said there were going to be blow up dolls of me being made soon. I’ll get one for the bullpen, maybe it’ll trick you enough so I can sneak longer lunches.” 

“You come in here and talk about getting naked, and I’ll make sure we BOTH get longer lunches.” 

TBC


	14. Wachovia

CJ walked through the operations bullpen just in time to see Donna slam a desk drawer shut and stomp over into Josh’s office mumbling to herself. The only words CJ caught were “Lyman hos.” CJ smiled and followed Donna into Josh’s office, where she found her, by herself in front of a large display of red roses. 

“Nice roses.” CJ complimented. 

“They’re not for me.” Donna huffed unrolling a roll of twine in her hands and cutting off a piece. 

“They’re for Josh?” CJ asked amused. 

“Yes. They are for the Knight in Shining Armor.” Donna replied then returned to her task, mumbling, “He’s MY knight in shining armor, and I wonder what he ‘hos would think if they found out the armor was a little tarnished; what would they think about him then?” 

“Um, Donna?” CJ asked growing a little nervous for her friend’s current mental state of being. “Who are they from?” 

“Legislative affairs.” Donna said snidely wrapping the twine around the stems and tying it tightly. 

“Who in Legislative Affairs?” 

“It didn’t say specifically, so I’m assuming all the women.” Donna explained, now pulling the roses up out of the vase. “He got a delivery yesterday, too, that was signed by the women of Human Resources.” 

“Josh is getting tokens of love from the women in the building now?” CJ giggled. 

“I’m glad you’re amused, CJ. I can’t believe you’re not indignant over this. These women are making whorey fools of themselves.” Donna pulled a chair over to the corner of the office and stood on it, as Josh breezed in through the side door. 

“Hey, CJ, what can I do for you?” he greeted. 

“Nothing, I’m just watching your assistant slash girlfriend lose her shit over roses.” CJ laughed. 

“Not again.” Josh sighed dropping his head. “Where is she?” 

“I’m over here.” Donna huffed from her perch. 

“What are you doing up there?” he demanded. 

“I’m going to dry the flowers out and use the petals to make potpourri for the ladies locker room downstairs.” she said. 

“Seriously?” CJ asked. 

“Yes.” 

“This isn’t a sacrificial thing for all the women to see when they walk by?” Josh smiled. He quickly lost his smile when he saw her glare at him. “All right, fine. It’s whatever you say it is. Can you come down from there for a minute? I have to leave now for my meeting with the GDC.” 

Donna stuck a tack through the twine and pushed it into the ceiling, then stepped down off the chair, pulling the files he needed off his desk to put in his backpack. 

“You’re really cute when you’re jealous.” Josh smiled. 

“I’m not jealous.” she snapped shoving things in his backpack. 

“Kay.” he said smiling over to CJ. “Are you sure you’re allowed to hang things from the ceiling?” Donna glared over at him again. Clearly, she didn’t care. 

“Who’s going to yell at you? The women of maintenance?” she spit back. 

“Okay. You know what? Hold on a second.” Josh said halting her obsessive packing and turning her toward him, wrapping his arms around her. “Take it easy.” 

“It’s disgusting!” she complained to his chest. “They’re throwing themselves at you like...like...” 

“Wanton sluts?” CJ supplied. Josh rolled his eyes at here indicating she wasn’t helping. 

“Yes! Exactly!” Donna agreed. 

“Hey.” Josh said cupping her face with both hands and drawing her attention back to him. “I don’t care about any of this stuff.” 

“I know.” 

“Yeah?” 

She nodded and he released her after a quick kiss. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and yelped. 

“You’re just going to keep on doing that until you remember to use the other shoulder.” Donna said shaking her head. 

“Probably.” he confessed, moving his backpack awkwardly to the other shoulder. 

“You’re like an abused puppy. You just keep coming back and getting kicked.” she said. 

“Call you when I’m leaving.” he said ignoring her snark and disappearing through the door. 

“What are YOU laughing at?” Donna demanded turning her wrath on CJ. 

“You.” CJ laughed candidly. “You really are funny when you’re jealous.” 

“I’m not jealous.” Donna defended heading back out to her desk. “I’m really not. I know he doesn’t care about this stuff, it’s just...I don’t know. Maybe it is jealousy. I mean, I know he’s going to go out with any of them.” 

“Because he’s spent six years working up the courage to kiss you.” CJ nodded. 

“I don’t know.” Donna sighed. “I guess it’s just...I could never openly show that kind of interest in him like that before, and we’ve always had a relationship. These women don’t even know him, and technically they all work for him, too, but since I work directly for him, it’s frowned upon?” 

“Donna, nothing’s frowned upon. Leo’s fixed all that.” 

“Not here, it’s not.” 

“Well, I’m glad you brought this up.” CJ said seeing her opening. “This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. I think you should sell your story.” 

“What?” Donna nearly gasped. “CJ, are you serious?” 

“I am. I think you and Josh should tell your story to Barbara Walters.” 

“So we can start the cycle of everyone saying mean things about me sooner?” 

“No. So we can skip right by it and get to the whole jumping in front of a bullet for you thing.” CJ said. “Everything that happened in the bank, THAT’S going to render everything else crap. Once you guys get to that part of the story, everyone else is going to realize that he really loves you, and that’s why you guys are together, not because of anything illicit.” 

“I don’t think Josh is going to go for that.” Donna said shaking her head. “I mean, everyone is making a big deal about this, and it is a big deal to me, but he’s not really interested in talking about it. He did it because if he didn’t, I’d be dead right now. It wasn’t because he just didn’t want to see me go through what he did, though that was probably part of it, he did it because Jay Jay was standing at almost point blank range and pointing a gun directly at my heart. I’d be dead.” 

CJ paused looking at Donna and quietly began speaking again. “People are acting like it’s a big deal, Donna, because it IS a big deal. People don’t do that anymore. And then there’s the fact that this is Josh, who’s already been shot once while serving this President. The Deputy Chief of Staff gets shot, it’s a big deal, Donna. It’s a hundred times bigger because he did it to save the woman he loves.” 

“I’ll talk to him, CJ, but I don’t know that he’s going to go for it.” 

 

Josh slid into his office, dropping his backpack on his chair. The first thing he had noticed when he walked into the bullpen was that Donna wasn’t out there. She usually met him at the door. He had talked to her just a little bit ago, she was here somewhere. A deliveryman carrying another bouquet of roses walked into his office at the same time as CJ. Josh dropped his head in defeat and sighed. 

“God, not another one.” he groaned signing the receipt. “I can’t say I ever thought the day would come when I groaned over getting too much attention from women.” 

“Who are these from?” CJ asked smiling. 

Josh sighed and opened the card. “White House Historic Preservation Department.” he read aloud. “Do I even know them?” 

“Are you going to let Donna butcher them, too?” 

“No.” he said picking up the vase. “I’m going to get them out of here before she gets back. Come with me.” 

“What?” 

“You had to talk to me anyway, right? Isn’t that why you’re here?” 

“Yes.” 

“Walk with me.” Josh ordered. 

CJ sighed and followed up out of the office, but she nearly collided into him when he stopped short in the bullpen. “I don’t even know where this office is.” he confessed. 

“What office?” 

“The White House Historic Preservation Department.” 

“You’re bringing them back?” CJ asked surprised. 

“I’m sending a message.” 

“Follow me.” CJ sighed again, taking the lead. “So, did Donna get a chance to tell you what I wanted to talk to you about?” 

“Yeah.” Josh said from behind the roses. “She told me just before when I called.” 

“And?” 

“And what?” 

“And what do you think about it?” she prodded. 

“Do you think it’ll help her?” he asked. 

“Help who? Donna?” 

“Yeah. If I agree and we go on Barbara’s show, do you seriously think that it will help with the fallout of she and I?” 

“I do, Josh.” CJ nodded. 

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously.” 

“I just don’t want her to get a lot of shit.” Josh said. He stopped walking for a minute and pulled CJ to the side. “She has nightmares, CJ. She’s been really tired and edgy. She’s talked to Stanley, but she’s still processing it all. You couple the experience of it alone, then add me getting shot, and it’s bringing back all these Rosslyn memories. I’d just hate for this to blow up in our face and her have to deal with more stress.” 

CJ smiled indulgently at him and led him into the office they were looking for. “You really are sweet.” 

“Are you going to send me flowers, too?” he smirked. 

“Not likely there, Romeo.” 

When they walked into the office they were greeted by four women gaping at them. These were White House employees that would never have any reason to interact with any of the senior staff, so both Josh AND CJ walking into their office was a bit much, on top of which, Josh was carrying the flowers they had sent. There was more than one red face in the room. 

Josh put the roses down on an empty desk and smiled at the women. “Thank you, very much. But the whole reason I jumped in front of a bullet for her was because I love her. So, thank you, very much, for the attention. I’m really very flattered, but these are better off here. They’re certainly safer from a hanging here, that’s for sure.” He gave one last smile to the room and disappeared through the door, leaving even CJ standing there surprised. 

“He really is charming.” one woman sighed. 

“Charming!” CJ snorted. “Yeah, I guess that’s one word for him.” 

TBC


	15. Wachovia

"Okay. I feel like an idiot." Donna said crying into Josh's shoulder. 

"Don't feel like an idiot; you did great." he said rubbing her back. 

They were sitting in the Map Room of the White House. They had just finished their interview with Barbara Walters and Barbara and her film crew were just packing up. CJ and Toby were still lingering near the door. Donna had requested the Map Room because she always thought the Mural Room was ugly and too dark. The Map Room, she thought, was a little more warm and relaxing. 

"Josh, I lost it." Donna reminded gesturing to where Barbara had been seated just a few minutes earlier. 

"Anyone would have lost it. It was a horrific story to tell." he countered. 

"You didn't lose it." 

"Of course not. I'm a guy, all I had to do was talk about how I was laying there in pain."

"Donna," Barbara interrupted gently. "For what it's worth, I thought you did great. You got emotional, so does everybody. And it really is an emotional story. I'm glad you're letting me be the one to tell it."

"Thank you." Donna said quietly from the safety of Josh's shoulder. "I just promised myself I'd be stronger."

"They don't make them stronger than you, Donna." Josh said lightly, kissing her temple. She smiled and picked her head up, chuckling slightly when she saw they had an audience of women peeking in. "So much for doing this after hours." 

Josh grinned, then kissed her lightly. When he pulled away he stood up and reached down to her. "Let's go get dinner." 

"Chinese?" 

"Steak." he replied. 

"Chinese?" 

"Red meat." 

"I want Chinese." Donna pouted. 

"Don't you pout at me." Josh replied. "I just spilled my guts on Barbara Walters. I want a big, juicy New York strip." 

"I don't understand." Donna said taking his hand and standing up. "How am I not winning right now?" 

"Because I love you. And because I love you, I spilled my guts on Barbara Walters. My reward is red meat." 

"Your reward isn't my love in return?" 

"Okay. You go get Chinese; I'm going to get a steak." he tugged her toward the door where Toby was gruffly ordering the lingering women to leave. Donna wrapped her arms around his waist as they walked down the corridor, back to Operations. 

"No." she sighed. "We'll get you your steak." 

"Well done." he said. "I want it like leather. I want to be able to shave with it." Donna rolled her eyes, as CJ ran to catch up with them. 

"Hey! You guys going for dinner?" she asked. 

"Yeah. Josh wants a steak, so it looks like we're going to the Hawk and Dove." Donna said. "You coming?" 

"Yeah. After listening to that, I think I need a few grasshoppers." 

***************************

Josh woke abruptly that night, sitting straight up in bed and gasping for air. He hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long time. He looked over to Donna and she was sitting up, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. 

"Josh?" she asked. 

"Yeah." 

"Are you all right?" 

"Yeah." he said taking a deep breath and falling back into the pillow. She leaned over him and he pulled her down to him, wincing slightly at the lingering pain in his shoulder. 

"Bad dream?" 

"Yeah." he said rubbing a hand down his face. 

"Want to talk about it?" she asked. 

"There's nothing to talk about." he replied. "I didn't get to you in time, you were dead." 

"Well, here I am. Very much alive because you did get to me in time." she assured. She leaned down and kissed the healing surgical incision on his shoulder. 

"Thank God for that." 

"Thank God for the kissing?" 

"That too." he whispered. 

"Physical therapy's going well." Donna noted as she threw her leg over to the other side of him and perched above him on all fours. 

"Soon I get to be on top." he grinned with a wicked gleam in his eyes. 

"Yeah? You planning out your debut?" She had moved to trailing light kisses along his collarbone. 

"I think you have some surprises coming your way." he flirted. 

She sat up with a smile and crooked her finger at him. He sat right up again and wrapped his arms around her. "I like how you come when I call you."

"I always come when you call my name." he said with his lips pressed against the long column of her neck. 

"And this conversation has quickly deteriorated." she said dropping her head back for him. 

"You started it." 

"I actually didn't mean it that way." she assured. 

"Whatever." 

"Are you happy, Josh?" she asked suddenly. 

"What?" he asked pulling back. "What the hell kind of question is that?" 

"I'm sure we're about to get a lot of media attention." she reminded. :I'm just afraid you're going to wonder if it was worth it." 

"If saving your LIFE is worth it?" Josh replied. "Donna!" 

"No, if you and I are worth." she said quickly. 

"We're worth it." he said going back to her collarbone. "I've always thought we were worth it; I'll always think we're worth it. And I'll remind you that I'm still in my job because you want to be there. I'm still totally okay with leaving the White House and not dealing with any media attention. Have you missed that I'll do anything for you, Donna? Is that not glaringly obvious?" 

"It is." she said running her finger down his cheek. 

"I am happy, Donna." he promised. "And we're worth it. We're worth anything. We proved that to each other. I jumped in front of a bullet for you, and you shielded me when Jay Jay wanted to finish me off. And I'll do it again if I have to. I will put myself in between you and danger every single time. I guess I should be asking you if you're happy." 

"Yes." she said kissing him. "Happy, overjoyed, complete." 

"Then everything else is crap." he shrugged borrowing Leo's favorite line. "And we'll face it all together."

"Just like we always do."

TBC


	16. Wachovia

“Josh, that’s your third glass.” Donna admonished. 

“It’s egg nog, Donna.” he countered. 

“Spiked egg nog, and it taste stronger than it did last year.” 

They had been at the White House holiday party in the East Room for an hour and Josh was going through egg nog at an impressive rate. 

“Still, I think I can handle it.” 

“If you want to sleep on the bathroom floor tonight....” she trailed off as Margaret approached them. 

“Josh, you’ll want to watch the tops of doorways when you leave here.” Margaret warned. 

“Why?” 

“Mistletoe.” Margaret answered. “Your fan club is trying to catch you.” 

“All right. This is really getting to be a bit much at this point.” Josh sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to have to seriously talk to Leo about this. I mean, can you imagine what THIS memo is going to look like?” 

“I’m just warning you.” Margaret said walking away. 

He sighed and turned back to Donna who was smiling in return. “I thought this stuff was bugging you.” 

“Not since you sent back those roses.” 

“You know about that?” 

“It had its desired effect. Ginger said word got around.” 

“It’s ridiculous. Nobody was impressed with anything I did before.” he grumbled. 

“I’ve always been impressed.” Donna whispered stepping closer, earning her a smile. “Dance with me.” 

“To Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire?” he laughed. 

“People are dancing to it.” she said tugging him to the dance floor. 

“It’s a Christmas song.” he protested but pulling her into his arms anyway. 

“They’re playing Christmas songs all night.” Donna reminded him as he guided her around the dance floor. 

“It really doesn’t bother you that there’s women waiting to kiss me at the doorways?” 

“First of all, I think I can take them.” she smiled. “Secondly, I’m more bothered by the fact that they think you’re actually going to kiss them. I mean, wouldn’t that go against this image they have of you all built up?” 

“I don’t know; I haven’t thought about it.” 

“Have you thought about telling what it is you got me for Christmas?” 

“Ooh, nice segue, Donnatella.” he complimented. “But it’s all for naught, because I’m not telling.” 

“Come on.” she pouted. 

“It’s a surprise, and you’re just going to have to deal.” he replied. “I’ve always gotten your gift myself. Has it ever been awful?” 

“No.” she smiled quietly. 

“Okay then.” 

“Did CJ at least help you?” 

“Donna!” he said frustrated. 

“All right, all right. I’ll stop asking.” 

“Well, I doubt that.” he mumbled. 

“I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.” 

“I thought you weren’t asking anymore.” 

“I’m not. I’m opening negotiations.” 

“I’m not telling.” 

“Okay.” she agreed. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, then grinned wickedly and sucked his earlobe into her mouth. 

“Donna!” he yelped in surprise. “This is the White House!” 

“Oh, sorry.” she said in mock apology. “You’re right.” 

“I am right.” he insisted. 

“I said you were.” 

He pulled her close again and they continued to dance. But his resolve was quickly dwindling when she started to run her fingers along that particularly sensitive spot behind his ear. 

“You’re killing me.” he moaned into her ear. “Now I’m thinking of doing things to you that would be completely inappropriate in present company.” 

“Then let’s leave the presence of present company.” 

“And go?” 

“Home.” She took his hand and led him off the dance floor. When they got to the edge, he wrapped his arm around her and they walked through the crowd towards the doors that led to the corridors of the West Wing. Donna glided through the doors first, and as Josh followed her through the archway, he hopped up and plucked the mistletoe down from the doorway. He waved it at the women standing there and smiled. 

“I think I’m going to need it for later.” he grinned, before running to catch up with Donna. 

THE END


End file.
